This invention pertains to connection cables and, in particular, to connection cables for connecting electrical instruments to their associated loads, i.e., amplifiers, processing equipment etc.
Many electrical instruments such as, for example, electric guitars, employ magnetic transducers for converting the sound vibrations or energy from the instrument into electrical signals for further signal processing and amplification. These transducers, or pickups, as they are commonly referred to are generally of the variable reluctance type and each exhibits a pronounced self-resonance effect giving the pickup its own characteristic sound. Musicians find this self-resonance effect and resultant pickup sound highly desirable, but it is often obscured by the equipment connected to the pickup, i.e., the connecting cable as well as the processing and amplification devices. In particular, the input impedance of the latter devices is often so low that the devices cause an undesirable shunting of the pickup electrical signal. A similar shunting effect is found to result from the connecting cable, this effect being especially pronounced in cables which are required to be long in length due to the requirements of the musician. In any case, this shunting effect results in loss of high frequency energy, thereby dampening the pickup resonance effect and producing what is commonly referred to as a "muddy sound."
Various attempts have been made in the past to prevent this undesirable shunting of the signal from the pickups of electrical instruments. Thus, for example, in the case of electric guitars, pre-amplification circuitry has been incorporated into the guitar body so that a low impedance output is provided by the instrument. Guitars of this type, however, require battery power or a special cable and power supply. As a result, they are expensive and overly complex and, hence, have not gained widespread acceptance by musicians. Attempts at providing kits for adding preamplification to existing guitars have also faced similar difficulties and, in addition, musicians are reluctant to use these kits as they fear they might disturb the other characteristics of their instruments. Miniature self-contained preampliers for plugging directly into the guitar have also been designed, but these have been found awkward to use and, hence, undesirable. Finally, various low loss cables have been designed and manufactured but these cables suffer from mechanical problems such as stiffness and large size.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a connecting means for use with the pickup of an electrical instrument, which does not provide signal shunting of the pickup signal.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a connecting cable for the pickup of an electrical instrument which is compact, inexpensive, provides a high input impedance and is compatible with existing equipment.